A Co-Created Urban Wilderness Installation for Castlefield Viaduct
In 2022, Urban Wilderness CIC was selected as one of four partner organisations invited by the National Trust to design a garden space for Castlefield Viaduct — Manchester’s pioneering new urban sky park. Alongside the Science and Industry Museum, City of Trees and Castlefield Forum, we were given a dedicated plot on the viaduct to create an installation grounded in our values of creativity, care and connection to place.
Working With Young People at 42nd Street
To shape our garden, Urban Wilderness partnered with 42nd Street, a Manchester-based mental health charity supporting young people navigating difficult life experiences. Through photo walks, conversations and creative workshops, we asked young people what they needed from a green space in the heart of the city.
Their message was clear:
a quiet, non-commercial retreat — somewhere to rest, breathe and step away from the intensity of urban life.
This became the foundation for the Garden of Possibilities.
Designing a Dreaming Space
Young people helped us imagine the garden as a small “dreaming space” above the city — a place that offered shelter, softness and the chance to pause. At its centre stood a simple geodesic dome providing shade and privacy, creating a gentle threshold between the busy world outside and the calm atmosphere within.
Planting choices were informed by discussions about wellbeing and sensory experience. Young people selected calming, restorative species such as nettle, feverfew and lemon balm to create an environment that supported quiet attention and recuperation.
The 3.5m × 6.5m plot became a soft green pocket on the viaduct — designed not to dazzle, but to care.
The Co-Creation Process
Our process throughout was collaborative and rooted in listening. Workshops allowed young people to explore materials, test ideas and shape the overall feel of the garden. Together, we considered how the space might support rest, how it could be used over the summer, and what would make it truly welcoming.
These shared ideas formed the basis of the final garden design, which was then developed with support from project partners and approved by the National Trust. The result is a space that holds the voices, values and experiences of the young people who inspired it.
A Space for Rest, Recuperation and Remedy
The Garden of Possibilities opened in August 2022 as part of the Castlefield Viaduct pilot project. It has offered thousands of visitors a moment of calm, inviting them to reconnect with nature and themselves while suspended above the city.
The Castlefield Viaduct has been widely featured in national press, including The Guardian and BBC News, demonstrating the significance of co-created green spaces within urban regeneration.
At its heart, the garden is a reminder that nature, rest and imagination are essential — even, and especially, in the busiest of places.